Oil well strainer



y 1932- R. T. ENGELBRECHT 6 OIL WELL STRAINER Filed July s, 1929 INVENTOR.

S ATTORNEZ? Patented May 31, 1932 UNITED STATES ROBERT T. ENGELIBBECH'I', LOS ANGELES, CALIFORCN' IA OIL WELL STRAINER Application filed July 6,

This invention relates to and has for an object the provision of an improved type of oil well strainer adapted for connection with the pump casing of a deep well and to be submerged in the oil bearing sands, whereby seepage of the oil from the sands into the strainer may take place without permitting the entrance of the sand into the strainer.

It is well known in the art that strainers of various types have been heretofore provided for the above named purpose, but such devices have usually been of a character requiring the preparation, adjustment, repair and replacement of parts of the strainer at a place of manufacture usually remote from the location of the well.

It is an object of this invention, therefore, to provide a strainer having a perforated wall which can be readily perforated by drilling on the side of the well in which the strainer is to be used, and in which perforations removable strainer plugs may be applied at the location of the well, thus facilitating the installation, repairs and maintenance of the strainer.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a strainer embodying an elongated casing provided with perforations in the wall thereof, preferably threaded, and plugs adapted to be threaded into said perforations and provided with substantially restricted slits or apertures thru which the oil from the surrounding sand may seep into the interior of the strainer, but substantially preventing the admission of sand thru said apertures.

.Other objects will appear as the description progresses.

In the acompanying drawings I have shown a preferred form of invention in which Fig. 1 is a view of a section of casing constituting a strainer and adapted to be connected with the lower end of the pump casing .of a deep well, the strainer being partly in section to show the interior thereof.

Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the strainer on line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective View of a suitable wrench for attaching and removing the strainer plugs.

For the purpose of this invention the strain- 1929. Serial No. 376,414;

er includes a casing A of suitable length and size with a plurality ofremovable strainer plugs B, B etc., held in the wall of the casing.- The casing A may include a single length of pipe as shown, or a plurality of similar sections attached together by the usual pipe couplings (not shown) which couplings are adapted to be screwed onto the threaded ends Al and A2 of the casing A. The casing is provided with a plurality of perforations A3, A3 etc., arranged at regular or irregular intervals thruout a portion or the entire length of the casing, as may be desired, or

necessary. The perforations A3 are threaded preferably on a taper, while the plugs Bare corre spondingly threaded on a'taper for insertion in the perforations whereby the plugs may be readily attached to and'removed from the casing A at will. 7

It will be noted that the plugs are prefera bly formed with heads B1 and skirts B2.

The skirts are provided with wrench receiving recesses B3 open at the outer ends of the plugs which may be of square, hexagonal, or other form, whereby a wrench may be in serted in the recesses for attaching and detaching the plugs. A suitable wrench for this purpose is shown in Fig. 3, which may include a body 0 with a stem Cl and a handle 02. The heads B1 of the plugs are provided with a plurality of slits or apertures B4 which may be of the same or different area and provide inlets for the oil, whereby the oil fromthe sand surrounding the casing A may seep or flow into the interior of the casing. The apertures B4, however, are preferablyof such size and form that very little, if any, sand will be permitted to enter the casing therethru, thus preventing the filling of the casing with sand and the clogging and impairment of the pumps which occurs with the use of other types of strainers.

The plugs B are preferably inserted in the wall of the casing A so that the outer ends of the skirts B2 will be positioned inwardly of the outer periphery ofthe casing. This is a valuable feature for the reason that with the form of strainer plugs used there can be no protruding portions which might interlOG ferei with the positioning of the strainer in a wel e The form of plug shown and described is capable of being readily attached to and detached from the casing and does not require a permanent lock in the casing, as in other types of plugs. M The provision of a strainer in accordance with my invention maybe readily made on the location of a Well by drilling and tapping the casing and by inserting the plugs in the tapped-perforations. Furthermore, when it is necessary to replace .worn or broken plugs such work may be readily done by removing the casing from the well and replacing the plugs on the ground with no to'ols except a suitablefornr of Wrench.

I prefer to form the plugs B of steel and to harden themto provide againstexcessive Wear and; to increase the durability and usefulness of-=theplugs. The-slits B4 in the plugs B are preferably wider at their inner margins than at their outer margins'so 'as to prevent-clogging of the slits with grains of sand which may inadvertently enter the slits of the plugs.

It will be understood'that while I have shown aform of invention particularlyadapted touse-in oil wells and the like,lmay modify theform of the plugs within the scope of'the appended claims without departing from the spirit thereof. r I

What I claim is: l r

1. Ina well strainer, the combination of a casing'and a plug screwed into said-casing and provided with an aperture'd head at its inner end, and'a wrench receiving recess out- Wardly of said head for attaching and detaching the plug.

2. A strainer plug externally threaded and provided with a multiple'slitted head at its innerextreinity and a recessed skirt portion for accommodating a wrench whereby the plug maybe inserted in and removed from operative position.

3. A Well strainer comprising a casing having a threaded perforation therein, a strainer plug having a head at its inner end and a recessed skirt extending outwardly therefrom for receiving a wrench, said head being provided'with transverse slots, and theplug having an external thread for engaging the thread in said perforation and for seating therein, when screwed home, with the slots in said head extending longitudinally of said casing.

ROBERT T. ENGELBRECHT. 

